United Airlines Boeing 777 loses tire while taking off from San Francisco, crushing cars on the ground

United Airlines Boeing 777 loses tire while taking off from San Francisco, crushing cars on the ground.


"At approximately 11:35 a.m., United Flight 35 departing for Osaka experienced the loss of a portion of its landing gear tire during takeoff," a United spokesperson stated.

The tire debris fell into one of the airport's employee parking lots. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported. However, SKY7 captured footage of the scene, showing police placing caution tape around cars that appeared to have been hit by the tire.

In response, United Airlines diverted the flight to LAX, where it landed safely. The airline is currently working to arrange a new aircraft to transport passengers to Osaka on Thursday evening.

The flight had 235 customers, 10 flight attendants, and four pilots on board, totaling 249 individuals.

"The 777-200 aircraft has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts. The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires," the airline assured.

Authorities briefly closed the runway to clear the debris but swiftly reopened it, with no further impact to airport operations expected.

Aviation experts emphasized that incidents involving planes losing tires are rare and do not indicate a broader safety concern.

"In aviation, we always strive to avoid single points of failure, and this is an example of that principle," said Alan Price, a former chief pilo